crooked tongues magazine News Features

Perforations can elevate a standard shoe to a higher level, and this Nike Dunk High AC, part of the 'Micro Perf' pack is evidence of that. The Dunk is part of a trio with a faintly out-of-place component in the shape of a perfectly servicable Air Force 1 — don't get us wrong, we don't want to see an Autoclave Uptown. No sir. The Harlem and DC appeal of the Foamposite AF1? Yes - we're feeling that spaceage styling. Baked rubber? No. But it's not like we've never seen a white-on-white Air Force 1 before, is it? Could it not have benefited from the addition of brown detailing somewhere for a spot of extra theme-pack correlation? Alongside that plainer effort, these Dunks get the job done by not aiming too high - lots of tiny holes add to the hot weather styling. There's not much more to them than that. This is  a simple formula that's hard to fully balls up, making the most of the striping opportunities a vulc sole allows.

As with the colourful canvas versions a few weeks back, we've had a major turnaround (word to Hank Mobley...and the Beatnuts) when it comes to the Dunk High AC. It works. We prefer the standard sole unit, but it keeps the shoe very, very clean — which in a finish like this, pays dividends. As for the Zoom Toki, the final part of the pack, we like the shoe a lot, but it's so simple that we've reached our wordcount on what can be said about it. So we didn't showcase that either. It's actually a goddamn relief that there's no way — well, none to our knowledge — that these have been shoehorned into some kind of paen to this year's World Cup festivities. That alone wins some extra support from us. All three 'Micro Perf' pieces hit the Crooked Tongues store this Friday - £50 for the Toki, £55 for this Dunk and £60 for the Air Force 1.